In gift giving it's the thought, and not the actual gift, that counts. The exchange of gifts between friends express the ties of friendship.

When giving others presents, the circumstances for giving should be taken into consideration. Generally speaking, when you go to another person's home for dinner, you should present a small hostess gift. Flowers, fruits, and unique local products make for excellent small gifts of this sort. If you are giving a gift to a child you might consider toys or candy. If you are invited to a wedding, you can give the newly married couple flowers or decorations for their party. If you are invited to a New Years party or other gatherings during the traditional festivals, you can give your hosts gifts like wine, tea, or tobacco.

Master the art of gift giving

Usually you should give presents to a person directly. However, sometimes presents can also be sent and received via mail, especially if the person receiving a gift is far away. In these circumstances, you should include with your present kind words written on a postcard. The postcard should be sent in an envelope of fair size. Usually it's improper to give just one person a present in public. It's also not proper to give your intimate friends gifts in public. Only small presents should be given in public.

Be kind and pay attention to your words

When giving others gifts, you should pay attention to how you act. For example, it's not very polite to put a gift on the corner of a table and steal out of the room. On the contrary, you should address the person you are giving a gift to. Chinese people often say "薄礼！薄礼！" (bó lǐ bó lǐ, Small present! Small present!), or "只是一点小意思" (It's just a little keepsake.) when giving others presents.

Respect the customs of gift giving

Chinese people often give other people presents in pairs. In south China's Guangdong province, people hate the number "4" (sì), because it has a similar pronunciation to the character "死" (sǐ) meaning death. Also, white and black colored gifts are not welcome because these colors are often related to sadness and poverty. However, the color red is welcomed by most Chinese people. Giving clocks to senior citizens is also avoided in China because clock in spoken Chinese, "送钟" (sòng zhōng), has a similar pronunciation to "送终" (sòng zhōng, which means to look after a dying parent or other senior member of one's family.). It is also customary that husbands and wives do not give each other pears ["梨" (lí) in Chinese]. Nor do lovers. Pronunciations of "梨" and "离" (lí, separate) are the same.